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Category Archives: Facts of Life

You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have… The Facts of Life. These didn’t come from Mrs. Garrett per se, but she would probably agree:

1) Don’t be racist. It illustrates immaturity, ignorance and a lack of progression. We are all human beings. Period. We all have our own stories, our own fears, our own need to be loved. It’s that simple. You are no better or worse than any other human being born in any other country or from any other nationality. We are all struggling (internally, externally or both) to survive in this world and it’s hard enough without hating each other because we all weren’t born on the same continent or don’t share the same skin shade. The universe is a big place. You don’t own it and cannot dictate who is allowed to live in it. Racism is a learned tragic flaw. Get over it quickly and see your life improve. (http://www.racismreview.com/blog/2009/04/16/racism-harmful-to-healt/)

2) Stop blaming everyone else. You and you alone are responsible for every single choice you make in your life. You will always run into obstacles, events, and people who may shape your decisions but it is up to you to take each and every step. How you were raised certainly plays a part in your disposition but you ultimately make the calls. Life will throw curve balls out the ying-yang but it’s up to you to take them in stride and knock them out of the park. Or at least a bunt. Always worry about how you feel and what you can do to rectify or improve the current situation. Even if someone else is to blame for something specific, it is you who can get yourself back on track. You can’t depend on anyone else in this life when it all comes down to it. We all feel like someone is out to get us once in a while. But if you look hard enough you will find out that the person is almost always you. (http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/the-power-of-making-decisions/)

3) Put the cell phone down. Even if you’re reading this on it. OK, after you read this. Chances are if you are like most people around you, you certainly aren’t speaking on it very much. The more your communication revolves around your fingers on an electronic device instead of your voice with a living being, the more removed you are becoming from society and the real world that’s spinning around you. Almost everyone we know would rather text than hear our voices- and don’t even think about actually meeting all of those friends to spend quality time together. The constant textual relationships have silently alleviated our past need for live personal interaction. Soon, our children won’t know how to hold real conversations and important things like job interviews and dating will be next to impossible. We have reached a social epidemic. It’s not conjecture. It’s frightening. These days, social interaction is a commodity, even in public places like restaurants and bars. People make and break plans; start and end relationships; and plan their entire social calendar with two thumbs. Want proof you might have lost touch with humanity? When’s the last time you called all of your close friends and family to wish them a happy birthday? Not to mention that the extensive use of “smartphones” with constant WiFi turned on leads to excessive radiation exposure and can cause tumors in the brain, head, neck, and wherever you store the phone on your body. No game of candy crush or text war with your ex’s next victim is worth several rounds of chemotherapy. 70% of us also have digital eye strain from overuse which leads to blurry vision, headaches, and neck, back and shoulder pain. If continued, this could lead to loss of vision much earlier in life than anticipated with old age as well as permanent posture damage. Put. The. Phone. Down. (http://www.medicaldaily.com/5-reasons-why-cellphones-are-bad-your-health-247624)

4) Curb Your Facebook Addiction. Studies show that people who spend more time on Facebook have less regard for their own lives and, whether they know/believe it or not, end up depressed and socially awkward. What we started enjoying as just a cool way to stay in touch with long lost friends or specific groups has become the main source of communication for millions of people- including close friends who have no business completely supplanting phone calls and hanging out for pointless back and forth Lucida Grande banter. Limit your Facebook obsession to one hour a day. Or, if you’re really daring, don’t sign on for two entire days in a row. Trust us, the world will not end. The statuses will all be there for you to look at and catch up on. As a matter of fact, you will have lots of exciting stuff to see by that point. Want proof you might be addicted? When’s the last time you called all of your close friends and family to wish them a happy birthday? (http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21583593-using-social-network-seems-make-people-more-miserable-get-life)

And if you are scrolling through your Facebook page (or texting) WHILE YOU’RE DRIVING, then you should commit yourself. You are clearly insane if you think the dangerous steel, glass, and rubber death machine you are operating will keep you safe while you look down long enough to comprehend full status sentences. People just like you die or kill people doing both of those things on a regular basis. Of course, you aren’t really insane. But what you are is desensitized to a solid fact you have known since your teenage years: driving distracted is beyond hazardous.

5) Unlock your love. No matter who you are or where you came from the most important thing you will ever feel, need and want is love. We all want it. We all fiend for it. We all feel less without it. Some will deny it. But that doesn’t change it. Whether it’s from a dog or their mothers, even the most sadistic murderer is capable of wanting and needing love. In fact, many say that love is the meaning of life. Universal love for yourself and your neighbor. Imagine, for a second, if we did all feel it- as preposterous as it sounds. No war, no crime, no hatred, no abuse, no segregation. There would still be pain and sadness and hardships in the world. But what a Utopia it would be if we no longer had to worry about being hurt by our fellow man. Life is too damn short for petty drama. This ideology only sounds farfetched because we are so far removed from it- certainly not because it’s not humanly possible. “Well, if everyone won’t do it, why should I?” Because it always starts with one person: you. You can’t worry about everyone else. But you can pass this along and maybe someone else will join you.